Tens of thousands of Californians with disabilities require special accommodations for dental care, but only 14 centers in the state can treat them.
Instead, disabled patients languish on waiting lists for years at the few places that can see them — usually dental schools. When they get an appointment, it’s frequently a financial hardship requiring time off of work for caregivers, long drives from remote areas of the state, overnight hotel stays and out-of-pocket surgical fees.
In 2019, she began touching her mouth repeatedly. Her mother worried she was in pain and called Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, where she had previously been able to get her teeth cleaned under sedation. This time, they said her weight gain made the procedure too risky. McGuffin was hired in 2019 to address the severe need for dental care among the center’s 18,000 consumers. The inability to find a dentist was the No. 1 issue facing their clients, she said, and 20% is likely an undercount.One of the primary reasons it’s so difficult to find a dentist is that most don’t accept Medi-Cal, the state health plan for its poorest residents, which a majority of people with disabilities rely on.
“They’re coming in from Palm Desert or Lancaster and Bakersfield,” Sung said. “I’m getting people from really far away.” Eventually, she found Barnes in Visalia. The Creede family saved up money for two months in order to afford the out-of-pocket anesthesia fee. They rented a car and a hotel room and drove seven hours south. It cost them $2,500 altogether. CJ got a root canal and dental restoration on two teeth.
“You get told no a lot,” said Laura Mulvihill, whose 26-year-old son Troy has severe autism and a seizure disorder. “I just kind of gave up after a while. A lot of parents give up.” “Unfortunately, once in a while it’s not one or two cavities, it’s 20 cavities or we’re taking a lot of teeth out,” Sung said.For a lot of special needs patients, facilities designed to handle their needs could cut down wait times and reduce the need for sedation, which carries risks.
“Most dentists aren’t going to find that spending the time is economically feasible,” Kunihara said. “It is unfortunately the nature of the system.” “The problem is, the number of people able and willing to see special needs patients in the private sector is fairly low,” Sung said. “They are referring to university. So when we see that population plus the extremely sick, we’re basically being overwhelmed.”
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